Cyber security professionals will always repeat these 10 tips to you. No matter where you are, these 10 tips are a must give.
- Do not use a password
- Do not use the same passphrase more than once
- Do not write down passwords on papers
- Do not share your password
- Do not simply open each mail / attachment
- Keep your software up to date
- Do not use pirated software
- Verify if you are uncertain
- Use back-up services
- Do not attach your private devices to the company network
Awareness and common sense
Most of the cyber security professionals face a daily battle with end users that are unaware of the threats that circulate the web. The most cases we see are end users that get infected by opening malicious attachments and clicking on malicious links that are found on the web.
So it is not a big surprise that the main focus of cyber security professionals is to get the end users aware of the online and offline threats.
In order to make it easier for the cyber security professionals out there, we have made a top 10 list of the most given advices by cyber security professionals.
- Do not use a password
- Do not use the same passphrase more than once
- Do not write down passwords on papers
- Do not share your password
- Do not simply open each mail / attachment
- Keep your software up to date
- Do not use pirated software
- Verify if you are uncertain
- Use back-up services
- Do not attach your private devices to the company network
Do not use a password
The time of passwords has been. It is time to evolve to the next generation of passwords. Meet and greet the passphrase. We are going to use passphrases instead of passwords. The reason for this is pretty simple, passphrases are much harder to crack, and anyone which tries to crack a passphrase can spend ages before any result is seen.
For example, if your password was “password!@#$1234”, you could change it to “my password = password!@#$1234”.
Do not use the same passphrase more than once
It is strongly recommended to not reuse the same passphrase on any other site. This is in order to protect yourself against the fact that websites can get hacked (which means that your credentials might get stolen). Once you keep using a different password for each environment, you re-ensure yourself that the cybercriminal cannot use the stolen password to access any other site.
Do not write down passwords on papers
Just don’t. No further explanation is needed. Use your common sense. Would you leave your debit card credentials next to your credit card in a public environment? NO.
Do not share your password
It is your password, your key. If someone does not have a key or password, it is their problem. Not yours.
Do not simply open each mail / attachment
Use common sense. If the mail demands a financial transaction or login, then verify if the mail is legitimate. If you are uncertain, ask your surroundings to perform a check for you. You can always call the sender or your superior to verify the request.
Keep your software up to date
If you use outdated software, you are trying to cross the ocean with a broken boat. Make sure that you use up to date software as they will contain patches and updates that will protect your device.
Do not use pirated software
If you use pirated software, you will never be certain what type of additional code will run on the background. It is possible that someone has added a backdoor to the pirated software. It is strongly forbidden for anyone with a brain to use pirated software in an operational business environment.
Verify if you are uncertain
If you see something on your screen, but you are uncertain what to do, then simply ask your environment to help you out. Do not click on anything to make it work. It often makes the issue bigger.
Back-up, and back-up some more
It is important to back-up your important files (w00t). You need to this as there is malware that is capable of encrypting all your files with a password. Once the malware has encrypted all your files with a password, it will ask for a specific amount of ransom. In order to defeat this threat, it is strongly recommended to use back-up services to back up your important files.
Do not attach your private devices to the company network
The company is spending thousands of dollars each month to protect the network against malicious threats. Do not become a malicious threat by connecting your device to the network. It is like you are bringing a bomb into the office and arming it by connecting it to the power supply of the company. Just don’t.
Do you have more tips?
If you have more tips, then do not hesitate to leave them in the comment section or the forum.